I think the bar needs to be higher than a comic book romance. It’s probably hard to do it with a character in full costume but then again he did it with Shape of Water.
The other thing I forgot to mention that still applies to the romance is that it feels like none of the characters have any agency of their own. They just get whisked along by whatever new plot device has suddenly appeared. There’s no plan at all. That only works if the characters have no time to breathe and plan but that’s precisely what Del Toro does mid movie. The secondary romance between the two “aliens” as Abe puts it doesn’t feel organic. It feels like it’s only there to drive the story along.
I think the bar needs to be higher than a comic book romance. It’s probably hard to do it with a character in full costume but then again he did it with Shape of Water.
The other thing I forgot to mention that still applies to the romance is that it feels like none of the characters have any agency of their own. They just get whisked along by whatever new plot device has suddenly appeared. There’s no plan at all. That only works if the characters have no time to breathe and plan but that’s precisely what Del Toro does mid movie. The secondary romance between the two “aliens” as Abe puts it doesn’t feel organic. It feels like it’s only there to drive the story along.
Better than most blockbuster romances, I’m aromantic so my standard is probably different than yours.
I read that as aromatic and got very confused.
It’s not a bad movie by any stretch. Its shortcomings just outweigh what’s great about it is all.